Print2Cloud247 offers secure mobile printing on any printer

One potential obstacle to “bring your own device” programs is the question of allowing users to easily and securely use the office printers from a mobile device. There are many specialized print-to-cloud printers out there, but the expense of replacing your agency’s entire fleet is prohibitive.

Print2Cloud247 (P2C) mitigates this cost by interfacing with existing printers. The company’s Universal Cloud Release Station, on display at the FOSE exposition, can talk to any printer with either Postscript 6 or PCL5e (or later) capability. Each printer is set up with geographic coordinates, so a mobile device running the client software will know which printers are nearest. Then, once the document is sent from the mobile device, the user goes to the Station, swipes his identity card, and the document is released to the printer.

It’s that last part that will appeal to government agencies. P2C can link a user to a specific magnetic stripe card (it could be any card with a stripe) or to a proximity item such as a Common Access Card, Personal Identity Verification card or key fob. This will ensure that the document won’t be sitting in a printer’s output queue for all to see, but will only print once the user is in the vicinity and ready to retrieve it.

There is a subscription fee of $30 per month, but it is per Station, not per printer. For secure print-to-cloud that works with nearly any printer, this may be an acceptable expense for agencies.

About the Author

Greg Crowe is a former GCN staff writer who covered mobile technology.